Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Tze Liang aiming for golden splash in SEA Games

Ooi
Tze Liang seen here competing at the FINA World Championships in
Barcelona in July, will take part in all four diving disciplines - 3m
springboard and 10m platform individual and syncronised respectively -
at the Myanmar SEA Games next month. - The STAR/ Glenn Guan

PETALING JAYA: Ooi Tze Liang, who turned 20 on Tuesday, now has a
shot at becoming a star performer among the Malaysian contingent when he
jumps from the diving board at the SEA Games in Myanmar next month.

The Penang-born Tze Liang has yet to taste victory at SEA Games level
but diving coach Yang Zhuliang has faith in his charge making his SEA
Games breakthrough.

Tze Liang, who has been diving with the national team for six years,
has been registered for all four events – men’s 3m springboard
individual and synchro as well as the 10m platform individual and
synchro.

If he is successful, Tze Liang will only be the second Malaysian
diver to achieve the feat after Leong Mun Yee, who hauled in four gold
medals at the Kuala Lumpur Games in 2001.

Tze Liang is now the most senior member of the depleted men’s squad
following the retirement of Olympic finalist Yeoh Ken Nee, Bryan Nickson
Lomas and Huang Qiang.

Tze Liang was originally trained for platform but he has shown an
ability to multitask with several good showings at the international
competitions in the springboard event as well.

Tze Liang in fact qualified for the 3m springboard aside from the 10m platform at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010.

After concluding a full season of the elite FINA Diving World Series
with Ahmad Amsyar Azman, Tze Liang’s 3m springboard synchro partnership
with the former seemed to have flourished rapidly.
They made a big impact at the World Championships in Barcelona in
July by qualifying for the final and finishing a respectable sixth.

That earned them a berth in next year’s World Series and Tze Liang,
who failed to qualify for the London Olympics in the 10m platform
individual, made a good comeback in his pet event to finish a
commendable 14th.

The 10m platform individual and 3m springboard synchro titles are as
good as Tze Liang’s next month but it will be a touch-and-go affair for
the 3m springboard and 10m platform synchro.

“I got a silver in Indonesia two years ago. Bryan is no longer diving and the responsibility is on me to defend the gold.

“I am optimistic I should get at least one gold but I will try for
more. The coach wants me to dive in the individual springboard but I
expect a tough challenge from my own team-mate Chew Yi Wei,” said Tze
Liang, who is currrently training with the team in Guangzhou.

Malaysia should unveil its new pairing of Tze Liang and the Mohd Danial Sabri for the 10m platform synchro.

Malaysia have not won the event since the 2001 SEA Games and Tze
Liang-Danial may well be the key to the diving team achieving a clean
sweep of all eight gold medals at stake.

Indonesia’s Andryan Andryan and Adityo Restu Putra, who gained
exposure in Barcelona, are considered the strongest challengers for the
gold.

The last time Malaysia won the event was through Ken Nee and Mohd Azheem Bahari back in Kuala Lumpur in 2001.